In recent years, transportation of forage over relatively long distances has been economically viable due to the prices paid for good quality forage in certain areas. Typically, a bale of hay 10 is formed which is about 18 inches wide (W), 14 inches high (H), and 35 inches in length (L) (FIG. 1A). As can be seen in FIG. 1A, the bale customarily rests on a bottom wall (not shown) having an area of L×W, presenting an identical top wall (also having an area of L×W), and exposing two sidewalls, each with an area of H×W. If the forage is to be transported over long distances, it has been found to be convenient to tie a number of individual bales together into relatively large bale bundles.
The practice of tying a number of individual bales together to form bale bundles has developed in order to permit more economical handling of the forage in connection with its storage and transportation. In the usual current practice, twenty-one bales are stacked in seven vertical stacks of three bales each and then tied together, to form a bale bundle.
Machines to form bales into bale bundles are known. However, the prior art machines have a number of disadvantages.